News – Page 43

New Sign on Sondreson Community Hall

New sign on the Community Hall The NFLA board has been discussing a new sign for Sondreson Hall for over a year. While visiting the North Fork, Paul Genovese became interested in what was happening up here. He checked out the NFLA website and listened to the oral history interviews posted by the North Fork History Project. After that, he started reading the board minutes where he discovered that we were interested in a sign for the Hall. He contacted me because I was still the NFLA President at the time and we talked about the sign design that the board had in mind. Using a computer-controlled plasma cutting machine he cut the design out of a steel plate with a rustic finish. When the sign was finished, he drove up to the Community Hall and mounted it. Many thanks to Paul for his initiative, creativity, time, materials, and interest in the North Fork Community.

NFLA annual food drive results

The annual NFLA food drive was started again this summer during the NFLA’s
August business meeting. Throughout the late summer and early fall, food was
donated by members of the North Fork community and collected at the Community
Hall. At the beginning of October, Tom Edwards gathered these donations and
delivered them to the Columbia Falls Food bank. The 2013 donations included
38 lbs. of food. Estimating $1.50 per pound, the total for food was $57.00.
There were additional donations in checks for $75.00. That makes the grand
total for this year $132.00. We want to thank everyone who donated an
participated in this years food drive effort.

Hunting season is here

Hunting season is already underway for bow, moose, and bear hunters, and rifle season for deer and elk opens on Oct. 25th running through Dec. 1. That means there will soon be a lot of hunters on the North Fork, including local residents, folks from around the state, and out of state hunters.

We recommend contacting the North Fork Patrol for advice on the best ways to mark your property against trespassing (see the Contact page for more information on the North Fork Patrol).

Be sure to always wear orange when you go out hiking, even if you don’t plan to leave the main road. And it’s a good idea to get an orange vest for your dogs, too! (Just make sure the girth is snug and doesn’t ride too far back on male dogs – we know of a certain dog who has had some trouble peeing in his orange suit…)

For you hunters, please be considerate of others in the woods, pay attention to private property signage, and don’t leave gut piles or other attractants where they could attract bears and endanger your neighbors. If you are in any doubt about the rules, check out FWP’s Hunter Page on their website.

Stay safe, everybody!

Maintenance Committee update – new porch on the back of Sondreson Hall

Lynn Ogle, Gary McDonough and Allen Chrisman replaced the back porch at Sondreson Community Hall on Wednesday September 11, 2013. The decking on the existing porch had rotted. The porch was replaced with pressure treated 4×4 stringers and 2×6 decking, and placed on concrete pads to prevent ground contact and rot. Thanks to Lynn for picking up the materials in town, and to Lynn and Gary for providing the tools and expertise necessary to complete the project. We were one board short – but found a scrap to finish out the project for the time being.

Tuchuck Trail Report

An MCC (Montana Conservation Corp) Trail Crew will be working on the higher section of Tuchuck on September 9-16. Even though they have received only 50% of the RAC grant funding for this project due to sequestration, they will try to get as much done as possible in a week. This is great news because the switchbacks going up to Tuchuck Peak are in terrible condition.

Flathead Forest Friday Focus: Weeds

Everyone Invited for a Breakfast Chat on Friday, September, 20^th

KALISPELL, MONT. – Nearly 30 species of invasive plants, or weeds, can be found on the Flathead National Forest. Each year forest employees strategize when and where to put its resources in the fight against these invaders. The tools used to kill the weeds are constantly changing as botanists consider everything from plant sniffing dogs to plant eating insects. Come chat with us about our efforts. Continue reading Flathead Forest Friday Focus: Weeds

NFLA auction dinner was well received

One of the items on offer at the NFLA auction earlier this month was a wine dinner for 6 with all the trimmings. Chef Morgan Hart’s goal for this year’s auction dinner was to source ingredients locally to the greatest extent possible. This effort included not only taking advantage of the trout pond and gardens at HartsCore but also accepting generous donations from North Fork neighbors Lee Secrest, Molly Shepherd, Debo Powers. Morgan also visited local farms including Kalispell Kreamery and Farm to Market Pork as well as shopping at the Whitefish Farmer’s Market and Glacier Produce. The search for a locally sourced piglet was, however, thwarted. Continue reading NFLA auction dinner was well received

New holdings for the NFLA Library of Nature Books

Debo sent word that there are new nature books available for check out. These include:

Small Mountain Owls by Scott Rashid
Lepidoptera of the Pacific Northwest: Caterpillars and Adults by Jeffrey C. Miller & Paul C. Hammond
Butterflies Through British Columbia by John Acorn & Ian Sheldon
The Moth Book by W. J. Holland
Montana Starwatch by Mike Lynch
Stars Over Montana: The Men who shaped Glacier National Park by Warren L. Hanna

For more information including how to check these and other books out, see the Trails Committee page.

Fire Mitigation Committee update, August 2013

The Fire Mitigation Committee held its annual Firewise Day workshop on July 10, 2013, before the Inter Local meeting. The focus of the workshop was the Wedge Canyon Fire, ten years later. Over fifty people attended. The response was enthusiastic, particularly to presentations by Allen Chrisman and Wally Bennett.

Allen spoke about climate change and its effects on fire behavior and frequency in the Northern Rockies. Basically, we’re likely to experience more fires and more intense fires as temperatures rise.

Wally Bennett took over as Type 1 Incident Commander the day after the Wedge Canyon Fire made its big run on July 24, 2003. He recently visited the North Fork to see the public and private fuels reduction work that’s been accomplished since the fire. He remarked at the workshop that the work has made a big difference and that he’s proud of what we’ve done. He also spoke about ingress and egress and how important it is to firefighters to turn their equipment around.

In addition, Michael Dardis discussed the major fuels projects undertaken by the U.S. Forest Service on the North Fork since the Wedge Fire. Brian Manning did the same on behalf of the DNRC. Federal and State efforts complement those of private landowners.

Otherwise, it appears that the North Fork will be awarded another fuels reduction grant, this one in the amount of $91,000. We don’t have a formal agreement yet but if it happens, monies will still be available on a 75-25 basis, with the grant paying 75% and the landowner paying 25% of the cost of a project. That’s increasingly rare; many grants now require 50-50 contributions. There will be a focus on Trail Creek Road as an exit route in the event other routes aren’t available.

Finally, speaking of the ten years that have passed since the Wedge Canyon Fire, it’s also been ten years since the Fire Mitigation Committee was appointed. Ed Heger, Lynn Ogle, Molly Shepherd, Jerry Wernick and Larry Wilson have served from the beginning. Allen Chrisman joined the committee a few years ago, after her retired as Fire Management Officer for the Flathead Forest.

Molly Shepherd, Chair
North Fork Landowners’ Association’s
Fire Mitigation Committee